This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah beat USC, a Rose Bowl contestant that has not lost a game since leaving Salt Lake City in September.
California dismissed the defensive coordinator whose tacklers denied the Utes at the 1-yard line on the game's final play.
UCLA fired the offensive coordinator who produced 45 points in a loss to Utah.
The Utes had the ball in the last five minutes of a tie game with Washington, a College Football Playoff qualifier.
Oregon fired the coaching staff that beat Utah on Senior Day at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah will conclude this weird football season Wednesday night, facing Indiana in the Foster Farms Bowl at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
That's five days earlier and 350 miles north of the Rose Bowl, which once looked like the Utes' postseason destination. But they lost to lowly Oregon and then fell to Colorado in the regular-season finale, creating the possibility of a third straight defeat to close a Utah football season for the first time since 1987.
That's what makes the Foster Farms Bowl interesting. The Utes really need to win this game — or, more accurately, they have to avoid losing.
Those two November losses were costly enough, but another defeat would make things worse. The 2016 Utes have one more chance to determine how they're remembered, and Indiana provides just enough of a test to make a bowl victory meaningful.
The Hoosiers' strongest credentials have nothing to do with the opponents they've beaten. Instead, they've gained credibility by competing with some good teams deep into the fourth quarter.
If the Utes lose Wednesday, they will be lumped with Indiana's other, undistinguished victims: Florida International, Ball State, Michigan State, Maryland, Rutgers and Purdue. If they win, the Utes will join Wake Forest, Ohio State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State and Michigan on a nice list of teams that beat Indiana. And only Ohio State, a 38-17 winner in Columbus, topped the Hoosiers by more than two touchdowns.
So a convincing victory over Indiana would be impressive, even if it may not undo the damage caused by those two November defeats. Even the Utes' ability to beat USC and compete with Washington serves as something of an indictment, considering how they couldn't follow through against Cal and Oregon.
A strong offensive performance Wednesday would restore some belief in the Utah program going into 2017 — even if senior running back Joe Williams is the catalyst. The Utes produced only four offensive touchdowns against Oregon and Colorado. In each game, quarterback Troy Williams' final pass went for a touchdown. The problem was the defense couldn't protect a lead in the last minute against the Ducks and Williams' TD toss at Colorado came too late to salvage anything.
Williams' 13-of-40 effort in Boulder was hurt by seven dropped passes, according to Pro Football Focus. Utah's passing game in 2016 is "not even close to where I want it to be as the receivers coach," Guy Holliday said. "Have we improved? Yeah, but we can be so much better, and we'll get better. … We had some growing pains, and that's really typical. I think [next] year, you'll see major improvement."
Holliday arrived from BYU when Ute coach Kyle Whittingham dismissed his receivers coach after last December's Las Vegas Bowl victory. Whittingham has made offensive staff changes either during or following every season since 2008, so some adjustments after the Foster Farms Bowl would not be surprising.
Whittingham's program has a accomplished a lot over the past three seasons, with two wins over each of these opponents: Michigan, USC, BYU, UCLA and Arizona State. And the Utes have been ranked in every edition of the College Football Playoff standings, joining Alabama, Clemson, Florida State and Ohio State with that distinction.
Right now, though, seemingly all anybody remembers is this season's four losses. The Utes can alter that lasting impression, as long as they don't lose to Indiana.
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